Manitoba documentary focuses lens on environmental defenders, beauty of prairies

Everything We Need Is Here is the latest sumptuously shot Manitoba film rooted in the Prairie landscape.

Though totally unrelated in subject matter, the documentary recalls the 2024 Daughters of the Sun with its saturated and slow-mo sweeps across boreal forests and limestone tinted lakes.

But while Daughters has much murmured narration and arthouse flair, Everything is a plucky film, a can-do sort of doc about the land and its grassroots defenders.

Their voices resonate strong and clear across storylines that weave together the joys of foraging and local environmental protests.

New Folklorama mural rises in Winnipeg’s West End

A Métis sash, Chinese dragon, Japanese lanterns, Scottish bagpipes and an Italian Vespa scooter are just a few of the cultural symbols taking shape on a new Folklorama mural in Winnipeg’s West End, celebrating the annual festival and the communities that have helped define it.

Table tennis nationals return to Winnipeg

You’ve played in your basement and watched it from afar during the Olympics but you may never have gotten the opportunity to see the pros do it.

That’s right, the 2026 Canadian Table Tennis Championships will be landing in our very own city for the first time in a decade. From July 17-23, the Manitoba Table Tennis Association (MTTA) will be hosting Canada’s best players at the Duckworth Centre.

And Carlos Cuadra, executive director of MTTA, is encouraging Winnipeggers to come and enjoy the event.

“We were hungry. We definitely wanted to do it,” Cuadra explained. “We want to show Canada that we are capable of doing such events. And who knows, maybe try international events, too.”

Winnipeg’s first pro women’s team will be in the Northern Super League

Desiree Scott made a name for herself on the pitch as The Destroyer. Now, she’s continuing her legacy as a builder.

On Tuesday, the Olympic gold medalist helped announce the Northern Super League’s expansion to Winnipeg, the seventh franchise in Canada’s rapidly growing professional women’s soccer league.

It’s also the first pro women’s sports team in the city.

Scott, a Winnipeg native, had been vocal about her desire for a pro women’s team in her hometown during her playing days, and has spearheaded the movement for it to come to fruition in the last year.

Painter honed art of volunteering at Lower Fort Garry historic site

When visitors wandered around Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site in the summer of 2023, they encountered a rather unusual volunteer: artist JD Hawk at his easel, busily working on his live paintings.

Hawk engaged with visitors as he painted, encouraging them to come and ask questions about what he was working on.

The paintings he produced during his tenure were never intended for exhibition, however. They were rough drafts for him to reference later in the year when creating his final paintings.

“There’s no fine detail, they’re not masterpieces. I consider them like a scrapbook, exploring the colours I would need to use for my master paintings,” he explains, adding that when he wasn’t painting he would walk around taking photographs for further reference material.

Fort Garry Hotel on Métis federation’s radar

One of Winnipeg’s most iconic buildings, the Fort Garry Hotel on Broadway, is next on the Manitoba Métis Federation’s list of acquisitions.

“We are not done with our commitment to investing in Winnipeg’s downtown,” president David Chartrand said Friday, the same day the federation announced it has purchased the former National Research Council property on Ellice Avenue downtown.

“One potential new acquisition we’re considering, if the price is right and the partnership is positive, is the Fort Garry Hotel. It is an iconic part of Winnipeg’s history and its future, just like the Red River Métis,” Chartrand said.

The 113-year-old hotel was co-listed for sale in May by real estate brokerage firms Avison Young and Cushman & Wakefield Winnipeg, but doesn’t have a list price.

Colourful folk festival campground a hive of creative activity

The 51st annual Winnipeg Folk Festival had yet to commence, but festivities in the campground were already in full swing.

The festival campground opened early Wednesday morning and provides a temporary home to more than 6,000 residents during the four-day music festival at Birds Hill Provincial Park.

By Thursday afternoon, the area had been transformed into a sea of colourful tents and trailers. A steady stream of campers could be seen hauling wagons from the parking lot loaded with essentials: coolers and tarps, sleeping bags and sunscreen.

Others brought a little more than the basics.

City considers million-dollar chop to tree planting program

The City of Winnipeg is one step away from chopping $1.2 million from its tree planting program to fill a separate budget gap.

The Manitoba government recently directed the city to spend an additional $1.236 million of its provincial “strategic infrastructure basket” funding on the Assiniboine Park Conservancy Journey to Churchill Exhibit, according to a city finance report.

Finance officials recommend the city fill that budget gap by transferring the same amount from the urban forest tree planting budget, which council’s executive policy committee voted in favour of Tuesday.

A local tree protection group said any funding loss would hurt an already ailing city canopy.

US airlines are redesigning travel around their highest-paying passengers

They may arrive at the same destination, but two passengers on the same flight can have strikingly different travel experiences.

One traveler breezes through a priority security lane and heads straight to an invite-only lounge for craft cocktails and a chef-prepared meal before boarding early. A flight attendant offering a glass of champagne and a warm hand towel welcomes the passenger to a spacious seat at the front of the plane.

The other traveler stands in a line at every step — security screening, a café selling $16 sandwiches, a crowded gate — then boards with one of the final groups, hoping there’s still room for a carry-on in the overhead bin before folding into a cramped middle seat. After the cabin lights dim, sleep comes in fragments, and a travel pillow does little to ease a stiff neck.

The contrasting journeys are no accident. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest U.S. airlines have pulled out all the stops to court premium passengers who are willing to pay for comfort, convenience and exclusivity. Budget-conscious travelers may notice a widening gap between the back of the plane and up front as the carriers increasingly build their businesses around selling first-class, business-class and premium-economy seats.

Teen urges premier to reject data centre, ‘put people and the environment first’

A 17-year-old who started a petition against the construction of an AI data centre northwest of Winnipeg has made a personal appeal to the premier to stop it.

Leona Gollub emailed Premier Wab Kinew to voice her concern about the environmental impact of a 5.5-megawatt AI data centre that’s being built on Brookside Boulevard in the Centreport industrial area in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, northwest of Winnipeg.

She said she worries about the noise and light pollution that would be emitted by the facility, and the massive amount of electricity it will require that could instead power people’s homes.

The premier, who recently rejected a data centre in Île dês Chênes, southeast of Winnipeg, thanked her for her concern in an email but did not go beyond that.

Roughing it (less): Handy items for novice campers to make the great outdoors tolerable

I hate camping.

I loathe the very idea of leaving the comfort and safety of home to sleep in a random field, where not only will I be exposed to the elements, but will also be at the mercy of all manner of creatures, from ursine to canine to insectan.

I do not want to hike up a hill just to share one outdoor tap with 12 others, standing alongside them as I brush my teeth.

I do not want to queue for 15 minutes, then part with a $2 coin to wedge myself into a shower stall just to stand under a piddly stream of lukewarm water while trying my best to swiftly soap up and sponge off lest I irk the rapidly growing line of campers outside.

Hemingway’s masterpiece on Spain’s bull runs turns 100 years old with its allure intact

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — Bill Hillmann has been gored three times while running with the bulls in Spain, but he wouldn’t miss this year’s San Fermin festival for anything.

It marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ernest Hemingway ’s book “The Sun Also Rises” that launched the future Nobel Laureate to literary fame and put Pamplona on the map for millions of people around the world.

On Monday, the festival kicked off with a firework blast over a jam-packed plaza. The first of eight bull runs is on Tuesday.

Hemingway’s 1926 novel captivated generations of readers with its sexy Jazz Age tale of American and British bohemians trying to fill some inner void with the distractions of exotic travel, vast quantities of alcohol and the anguishing pursuit of impossible love.

Feasibility study planned for arena on former Kapyong Barracks site

A First Nations development group is hoping to pull in prospective sports teams with plans to build an arena in south Winnipeg.

The Treaty One Development Corp. is exploring the feasibility of a 6,000-person arena in Naawi-Oodena, the former Kapyong Barracks site, on the southeast side at Taylor Avenue and Kenaston Boulevard.

The hope is to give aspiring athletes a large space to practice, and possibly even bring a junior or professional sports team to Winnipeg, said chief development officer Cody Mercer, who listed the Western Hockey League or National Lacrosse League as examples.

“Not just working for Treaty One, but also in our membership of the seven communities, there’s a ton of athletes, and really we see that when they’re getting to that higher level of hockey or anything like that, they’re having to move away,” he said. “We thought this is an idea that we can try to bring (in) a team.”

Zebra mussels found in Lake of the Prairies

Lake lovers in Manitoba are worried the detection of zebra mussels in Lake of the Prairies could result in restrictions that give the local economy a rough ride.

Environmental officials have found samples of zebra mussels in the larval stage in Lake of the Prairies, a manmade reservoir on the Assiniboine River that straddles the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border.

Multiple zebra mussel veligers were detected in the lake as part of Manitoba’s routine monitoring program, and corroborated by followup sampling, said the provincial environment department on Friday.

All boats and any water-related equipment of any kind used on the Lake of the Prairies, also known as the Shellmouth Reservoir, must be decontaminated before being used on another body of water, officials said.

New Kevin Walters Plaza graced by art with heart

Tears fill the eyes of an Ojibwa sculptor from Peguis First Nation as he talks about the spiritual journey and deep friendships that came out of creating his first public art piece.

World gets glimpse of its climate future

Midway through 2026, two major climate dynamics are emerging in parallel. One is a mass rollout of renewable energy. The other is an ominous El Niño brewing, likely to soon trigger fierce weather extremes.

Fish handling tips for fishes’ welfare and better photos

Most of us who spend any appreciable time fishing have encountered those special moments when we want to capture a photograph of the catch that has just made it into the boat.

Numerous circumstances might be driving our desire to get that photo: a neophyte’s first fish, an exceptional catch, the so called “fish of a lifetime,” or any number of other factors that really can be determined only by the angler and the photographer.

Regrettably, many of us have also experienced varying levels of satisfaction with the images captured after we have released the fish to swim free, leaving the angler wishing for more, at which time it’s too late.

The good news is that with a little bit of forethought and planning, we can consistently take great photos of the fish we catch — with the fishes’ welfare of utmost interest, of course.

Heat catches Europe’s fashion industry unprepared as models face the sun in fur and wool

PARIS (AP) — The most coveted accessory at the Paris Fashion Week shows this week was not a bag, a sneaker or a watch. It was an ice pack.

As a historic heat wave gripped the French capital, fashion houses fought to keep guests cool with mist machines, chilled towels, parasols and iced Evian on silver platters.

It wasn’t enough. Historic venues sweltered, guests were packed in tight, air conditioning was absent or inadequate and water ran short — at one house, organizers weighed serving none at all, having found only plastic bottles to hand out.

That mattered because Paris Fashion Week is not a minor cultural event.

Europe’s extreme heat would be impossible without climate change, scientists say

The record-breaking heat that's scorching Europe day and night this month would not have been possible without climate change, according to a new study.

The World Weather Attribution rapid study released Friday found that the heat would have been virtually impossible just five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago.

Millions in France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe are experiencing extreme temperatures and humidity this week associated with a heat dome. Daytime temperatures have topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many places, while high nighttime temperatures have also made it harder to cool down and recover.

The scientists estimated that a heat wave with similar characteristics occurring in the climate of June 1976 would have been about 3.5 degrees Celsius (6.3 Fahrenheit) cooler during the day and about 2 degrees Celsius cooler (3.6 Fahrenheit) in 2003. The nighttime temperatures would have been about 2.4 degrees Celsius (4.3 Fahrenheit) cooler in June 1976 and about 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 Fahrenheit) cooler in 2003.

Reflecting Pool liner was cut with a sharp knife or razor, National Park Service says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor this month, causing damage to the foam sealant installed as part of a $16 million rehabilitation project, a top official at the National Park Service says.

The U.S. Park Police responded June 9 to a complaint by the park service, said Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the park service. Lands made the statement in a court document filed late Wednesday as part of a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit organization to halt the Trump administration's work on the project.

His statement does not say when exactly the damage occurred or whether it was a suspected case of vandalism and does not identify anyone who might have been involved.

The police report indicates damage to the pool, "including a caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of delaminating surface material,'' Lands said. About 70 fence post tops also were thrown into the pool, he said.

Not just a blip in the news cycle

It wasn’t, as is said, “a good look.”

When the U.K. tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail published a report on its website last week that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued a travel advisory for visitors to Manitoba, warning of a hepatitis A outbreak, there were likely audible groans in several Winnipeg offices.

The dailymail.com website gets over 35 million unique monthly visitors in the U.S. alone, making it one of the most popular news sites in the world.

So, when America’s leading public health agency issued a notice telling people to be mindful of their interpersonal interactions in Manitoba and to be vaccinated against hepatitis A before visiting, officials with tourism agencies and government ministries knew they had a job to do.

Greed outshines ‘the Beautiful Game’

Utter greed is at the heart of this World Cup, and it has shown up as utter stupidity on the part of FIFA to think that it could treat the 104 matches of this tournament as “104 Super Bowls.”

Summer debut of Open Corydon

More patio space, live music and pizza slices to-go are slated for Corydon Avenue this summer — but cars aren’t invited.

Only on Sundays, starting July 5, Corydon will be closed to vehicles between Daly and Lilac streets from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Taking up the road and sidewalks, Winnipeg organizers hope, will be pedestrians and businesses showcasing their wares.

It’s a first-of-its-kind initiative for the Corydon Avenue Business Improvement Zone. Open Corydon, as it’s called, is set to run until Sept. 6.